Selling the dream
If you put all the men's fitness and health magazines I've ever bought next to each other, you would see the same theme over and over.
People in marketing will know all of this and wonder what took me so long, but products aren't sold, dreams are.
In every issue the dream is promised;
8 pack abs in 6 weeks!
Gain lean muscle mass, loose body fat
Improve sexual performance/attractiveness/success ratio
Is it really that different form the ads in the back of 50's comics promising no more sand in the face?
Women's magazines are just as bad;
Summer thighs in 4 weeks!
Improve your sex life with these secrets that he won't tell you
We all know we look nothing like Brad and Angelina, and we also are conscious of the fact that no product will make us look like that. But on some level we are falling for it aren't we?
We can have thinner thighs by July 4th, or an 8 pack (I guess people who got the six pack were cheated) in only weeks. Just five minutes a day is all it takes to change your life. We buy makeup to look like Halle Berry, the right sunglasses, the right look and on it goes.
But I'm still just me, I'm not Brad..not even close.
Car commercials sell wide open spaces, and luxurious comfort, style and grace. And we buy, and buy and buy. The beauty of the plan from the sellers perspective is we never get what we're buying, and we never realize it cannot be bought. So we try and try again, we never get to the mountain top, and we never realize it's not for sale.
I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I take mountains of supplements, read men's health, fitness and lifestyle magazines, try and wear the right clothes and on down the line. I know better, or at least I think I do. I know that true love is not branded, and need not be stylish or elegant, and that happiness has nothing to do with abs, fake boobs, or Vuitton.
I try to focus on those things that offer simple enjoyment. Reading, exercise, and listening to music all can offer escape from commerce for a time, but are you drinking the right sports drink? Is that a clima-cool shirt? Back in my south Austin rec. center days, we would often remark that the basketball players with the best gear were always the worst players, whereas the kids in jeans and cowboy boots who practiced everyday would dominate.
But to stop buying all this crap is un-American right? I mean the first thing we were asked to do post 911 was buy stuff. As we dig deeper and deeper into both personal and national debt can we possibly keep the pace? Can durable goods keep selling if our credit is maxed out?
I'm getting tiredhead, and I doubt anyone is still reading this train of thought, so screw it.
As Gil Scott Heron once sang 'could you call on Lady Day, could you call on John Coltrane'
There that's better, Love Supreme is free or almost..except I bought that title four times cause it keeps getting improved, but that's another blog.
People in marketing will know all of this and wonder what took me so long, but products aren't sold, dreams are.
In every issue the dream is promised;
8 pack abs in 6 weeks!
Gain lean muscle mass, loose body fat
Improve sexual performance/attractiveness/success ratio
Is it really that different form the ads in the back of 50's comics promising no more sand in the face?
Women's magazines are just as bad;
Summer thighs in 4 weeks!
Improve your sex life with these secrets that he won't tell you
We all know we look nothing like Brad and Angelina, and we also are conscious of the fact that no product will make us look like that. But on some level we are falling for it aren't we?
We can have thinner thighs by July 4th, or an 8 pack (I guess people who got the six pack were cheated) in only weeks. Just five minutes a day is all it takes to change your life. We buy makeup to look like Halle Berry, the right sunglasses, the right look and on it goes.
But I'm still just me, I'm not Brad..not even close.
Car commercials sell wide open spaces, and luxurious comfort, style and grace. And we buy, and buy and buy. The beauty of the plan from the sellers perspective is we never get what we're buying, and we never realize it cannot be bought. So we try and try again, we never get to the mountain top, and we never realize it's not for sale.
I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I take mountains of supplements, read men's health, fitness and lifestyle magazines, try and wear the right clothes and on down the line. I know better, or at least I think I do. I know that true love is not branded, and need not be stylish or elegant, and that happiness has nothing to do with abs, fake boobs, or Vuitton.
I try to focus on those things that offer simple enjoyment. Reading, exercise, and listening to music all can offer escape from commerce for a time, but are you drinking the right sports drink? Is that a clima-cool shirt? Back in my south Austin rec. center days, we would often remark that the basketball players with the best gear were always the worst players, whereas the kids in jeans and cowboy boots who practiced everyday would dominate.
But to stop buying all this crap is un-American right? I mean the first thing we were asked to do post 911 was buy stuff. As we dig deeper and deeper into both personal and national debt can we possibly keep the pace? Can durable goods keep selling if our credit is maxed out?
I'm getting tiredhead, and I doubt anyone is still reading this train of thought, so screw it.
As Gil Scott Heron once sang 'could you call on Lady Day, could you call on John Coltrane'
There that's better, Love Supreme is free or almost..except I bought that title four times cause it keeps getting improved, but that's another blog.
posted by Robert_M at 8:22 AM
6 Comments:
I agree. Samsara.
You're so vain... You probably think this song is about you ... ~The Carly Simon Marketing Plan
As a card-carrying member of the Brotherhood of Cheap Bastards, I scrutinize every single purchase (to a fault, some would argue). So before shelling out my hard-earned cash I always ask myself:
a) do I really and truly need this product? Are they just trying to suck me in with clever marketing?
b) does this product have a good quality-to-cost ratio? Will it last? Can I afford it?
c) will this product clutter up my life? Magazines are the worst offenders.
d) will I have buyer's regret? Is it worth my time shopping around?
As T. can attest, a trip to the store with me is a real beating. There are often notepads and calculators.
-K.
And tape measures.
Usually, actually there are at least two trips to the store with K. The first is the pre-shop. Then there is the debate at home, often with spreadsheets. Then there is the actual purchase.
For what it's work, our house is virtually clutter-free.
worth, not work.
Will K freelance as a Life coach?
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